Kudu Investment Management made a minority investment in Apera Asset Management, a pan-European private debt manager.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, a Kudu spokesman said.
Apera is a London-based firm focusing on middle-market private debt. It primarily focuses on businesses in Austria, Benelux, France, Germany, the Nordics, Switzerland and the U.K., and manages more than $2.9 billion in assets for institutional investors. Investments have been made across information technology, health-care, consumer discretionary and financial companies.
Kudu, which provides long-term capital to independent asset and wealth managers, acquired the stake from non-Apera shareholders, the spokesman said. The firm continues to be majority partner-owned, with founders Klaus Petersen, David Wilmot and Robert Shaw continuing to manage the firm.
Apera will use the investment to accelerate the growth of its business, as well as for other internal uses, a news release added.
"The environment in Europe is receptive to credit solutions like Apera's, and long-term prospects for European credit funds are highly promising," Mr. Petersen said in the news release. "Kudu emerged as our preferred strategic partner when we began exploring paths to accelerate Apera's growth initiatives and to diversify our client base. We value Kudu's combination of flexible capital, broad industry knowledge, and global reach."
The deal marks Kudu's third partnership in the U.K. and Europe, following an investment in London-based special situations manager Warwick Capital Partners in 2019, and in London-based alternative credit firm Fair Oaks Capital in 2018.
Kudu was founded in 2015 and has invested in 25 asset and wealth managers in Australia, Canada, Europe, the U.K. and the U.S. The firm's estimated partner assets under management totaled $94 billion as of March 31.
